Montreal Impact Earns Victory in First Leg as USSF D-2 Pro League Postseason Kicks Off

Carolina and Minnesota Draw in Other Matchup

Oct 6, 2010

CHICAGO (Oct. 6, 2010) – The USSF D-2 Pro League Playoffs commenced this evening in Montreal, Quebec as the Montreal Impact defeated the Austin Aztex 2-0 in the first leg of their first round matchup. The late match turned out to be a 0-0 draw between the visiting Carolina RailHawks and the NSC Minnesota Stars.

The No. 6 seed Impact will go into their second leg matchup in Austin with a two-goal advantage over the No. 3 Aztex, while No. 2 Carolina will return to Cary, N.C., on even ground with No. 7 Minnesota. Austin will try to repeat or better the result of their first match of the season when they defeated Montreal at home 2-0 on April 11. Minnesota will like their chances at WakeMed Soccer Park as they came away with a 1-0 win on April 16 against Carolina.

The USSF D-2 Pro League playoffs will continue on Thursday, Oct. 7, with the Rochester Rhinos facing the Puerto Rico Islanders at 8:05 p.m. ET in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, while the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps FC renew their rivalry at 10:30 p.m. ET at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, British Columbia.

The playoffs consist of a two-leg, aggregate goals series in the first round, semifinals and finals. Away goals will not be considered a tie-breaker in the aggregate goal series. If teams are tied on aggregate goals after the conclusion of the second leg, they will play two 15 minute overtime periods. Penalty kicks will follow overtime if the teams have not broken the deadlock. USSF D-2 Pro League Playoff Schedule and ResultsFirst Round, Leg 1

Date

Match

Time (ET)

Venue

Oct. 6

Montreal Impact 2, Austin Aztex 0

7:30 p.m.

Stade Saputo; Montreal, Quebec

Oct. 6

NSC Minnesota Stars 0, Carolina RailHawks 0

7:30 p.m.

National Sports Center; Blaine, Minn.

Oct. 7

Puerto Rico Islanders vs. Rochester Rhinos

8:05 p.m.

Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel; Bayamon, Puerto Rico

Oct. 7

Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Portland Timbers

10:30 p.m.

Swangard, Stadium; Burnaby, British Columbia

First Round, Leg 2

Date

Match

Time (ET)

Venue

Oct. 9

Rochester Rhinos vs. Puerto Rico Islanders

7 p.m.

Marina Auto Stadium; Rochester, N.Y.

Oct. 9

Carolina RailHawks vs. NSC Minnesota Stars

7 p.m.

WakeMed Soccer Park; Cary, N.C.

Oct. 9

Austin Aztex vs. Montreal Impact

8:30 p.m.

House Park; Austin, Texas

Oct. 10

Portland Timbers vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC

9 p.m.

Merlo Field (Univ. of Portland); Portland, Ore.

Semifinal, Leg 1Matches will be played on Wednesday, Oct. 13 or Thursday, Oct. 14

Semifinal, Leg 2Matches will be played on Saturday, Oct. 16 or Sunday, Oct. 17